


it's you that i've been waiting to find

by echo_wolf



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Parent Trap AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 07:58:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7836595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echo_wolf/pseuds/echo_wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the story of Jake Griffin and Aden Woods...and their moms.</p><p>Twice the Fun. Double the Trouble. </p><p>[Parent Trap AU]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. i'll be redefined

Clarke has to kneel to get the composition of the single white primrose with the scenic train window backdrop just right. She takes a few varying shots before taking the stem between her forefinger and thumb, twirling it mindlessly. This is one way to pass time on a train.

"So, you're the one who keeps taking my flowers." A voice from behind her says with a little bit of annoyance.

She doesn't turn around yet, because it's true. She's been finding these flowers since Portland. She fires back a response, "You're the one defacing public property." She bites back a grin when she turns around to find a terribly attractive brunette with soft green eyes in the aisle. Clarke simply hooks her camera strap over her shoulder. She continues to twirl the stem between her fingers, just to see the response.

The brunette huffs. "I'd hardly call it defacing."

"Would you prefer littering?" Clarke replies with a quirk of an eyebrow, a teasing smile growing on her lips.

The girl lifts her chin indignantly. "I thought I was helping the seats, aesthetically speaking."

"You know you could do that by sitting down, right?" There's a smile tugging even harder now, but Clarke still waits for a response from the stranger.

"I fail to see how that--" The brunette stops mid-sentence as she looks at the blonde in surprise. "Oh."

Clarke revels in the way her cheeks flush with a slight tint of pink. Before Clarke can act on it, the train car suddenly jerks, sending the blonde stumbling forward into the stranger's arms.

"Guess we're even now?"

It's Clarke's turn to turn an embarrassing shade of red. "Thanks." She collects herself internally, taking a seat by the window. She turns to the brunette, patting the seat next to her. "So?"

The brunette shakes her head with a small smile as she takes the spot next to the blonde. "You know, you're not so bad yourself."

Clarke smiles at that. "I'm Clarke."

A slender hand fits nicely within Clarke's smaller hand. "Lexa."

***

"Lexa, look, they could have pancakes!" Clarke points at the window with the 24 hour sign.

"How good are those pancakes gonna be, Clarke? It's 2AM." Lexa states dryly. "And who names their restaurant the 13 Coins, anyway?"

"But we're stranded until morning, and that's probably the only other place than the station that'll let us stay." Clarke argues plainly. "What else are we gonna do?"

Lexa doesn't have a response because they have been walking for at least 45 minutes since the station. So, Clarke just pulls her into the quaint diner before Lexa can change her mind. They stay until sunrise, especially after Lexa realizes these are probably the best pancakes she's ever had at a diner or otherwise.

When Clarke presses a sleepy kiss on her cheek after they find themselves on next train, Lexa falls in love just a little.

***

"Clarke, stop taking pictures, will you?"

Clarke pouts. "Why not? Not my fault you're a perfect subject." When Clarke places her camera on the mantle, she notices Lexa's hands are fidgeting and she's literally squaring her shoulders every few seconds. "Babe, what's wrong?"

Lexa shakes her head, simultaneously fighting a shuddering breath. "Nothing, I'm fine. I promise."

"Really? You look like you're gonna pass out." Clarke looks at her pointedly, slightly amused.

Lexa shakes her head again. "It's just…I think I'm in love with you."

Clarke can't help but laugh, but she plays along anyway. "Well, I think I'm in love with you, too, idiot."

Her girlfriend shuts her eyes, clearly exasperated, but Clarke knows it's not a personal thing. Lexa does this when she's struggling with her emotions. So, Clarke waits, placing a calm hand on her girlfriend's knee.

"Marry me." Lexa blurts out as she opens her eyes and exhales.

Clarke gapes at her for a second, her jaw slacking when she finds she can't make her mouth move. "What?"

"Clarke Griffin, will you spend the rest of your life with me?"

***

"You may now kiss the bride."

Lexa kisses Clarke like she's all she'll ever need.

Clarke believes it more than anything in the world.

***

12 years later

***

"Welcome to Camp Jaha! Grab your duffels and proceed to your designated cabins!" The camp director calls into a large megaphone.

Jake doesn't pay much attention to the announcements. He can't find his duffel-- the same yellow one that Ma and Octavia specially picked out so he wouldn't lose it.

He pushes his shaggy hair from his eyes. He spots it out of the corner of his eye, but it's buried under at least 10 more bags.

"Great." he mutters.

"Looks like you could use some help." A smaller boy with soft features and kind eyes approaches him.

"Yeah, do you mind?"

The boy shakes his head and helps Jake with pulling his duffel. After a few struggling tries, they're still unsuccessful.

"Monty! There you are!" A boy with oversized goggles calls from the other side of the pile. He makes his way around. He notices Jake. "Oh, and you made a friend."

"Yeah, I'm Jake." Jake says, waving. "He was trying to help me get my bag."

The boy with the goggles grins. "A friend of Monty's is a friend of Jasper's. How can I help?"

Monty speaks up. "Jas, hold up that bag a little bit." Then he turns to Jake, "Now, we pull."

It doesn't take much effort and Jake finally has his duffel by the end of it. Jake shares high fives with his new friends.

"Where's your cabin?" Jasper asks.

"Jake Griffin?"

"Here!" He waves his hand over his head to catch the director's attention.

The director, with the nametag Marcus, reads the paper on his clipboard. "The Ark!"

"That's where we are!" Monty grins at him.

Jake nods. "Sweet!"

***

"Aw…my boy is growing up so fast." Raven coos as she's suffocating Aden with an embrace.

He pushes her away. "Rae, come on, I can't breathe."

She gives him an apologetic look. "Sorry, bud." She ruffles his hair. "You sure you gonna be okay?"

He rolls his eyes, "Yes, Rae."

"You're positive? You don't want me to tory and pretend I'm still 12?" Raven says as she looks around, trying to look for an authority figure.

"Rae, you curse too much. " He says simply.

Raven glares at him. "As if you don't have the same vocabulary on the playground."

"And guess where I got that from?" He replies with an amused smile.

"Fine." She says, crossing her arms over her chest. "But, if you change your mind, you know how to reach me."

He's the one who hugs her this time. "Thanks for bringing me here, Rae."

"Aw, bud, you know I'd crash-land a pod for you." She reaches out her hand, "Put her there, champ."

He grins up at her as they go through the motions of their secretive and overtly complicated handshake.

"Boom."

She hugs him one last time before getting into the cab, leaving Aden to watch the car drive away in front of camp.

"Aden Woods?"

He turns around and says, "Here!"

"Polis!"

***

"Better luck next time!" Jake says, shaking hands with the poor boy that he practically tackled down in mere seconds.

He readjusts his head gear as Jasper and Monty hype him up.

Marcus is hollering into his megaphone again, "Come on, guys, any challengers?"

"Can I try?" Aden says as he walks back inside from playing a game of frisbee with his friends Roan and Lincoln.

"There we go!" Marcus throws some equipment for him to put on.

Jake doesn't bother to turn around to size up his opponent. Aden looks at the protective head gear and then throws Marcus a questioning look.  
"We can't hold any sparring unless you wear the head gear." Marcus explains, shrugging, "Bad accident once."

Aden throws one more questioning glance at the funny looking red helmet before securing it onto his head.

"Alright, boys, meet in the center." Marcus takes several steps back until he's off the blue mat. "If either of you step off the mat, the match is over." He takes his whistle, then blows three times.

***

The match starts off even. Every thrown punch or kick is easily blocked and countered. It goes on for some time tiring minutes, but Jake starts to feel like he has the upperhand. One moment he goes for an opportunity to grab his opponent by the shoulder. The next thing he knows, he's on his back looking up at the ceiling. He's about to get back on his feet, about to counter this before his opponent takes advantage.

"Match!"

Jake cries out. "What do you mean? I wasn't out for long at all!"

"Your feet, Griffin." Marcus points to his right foot that’s hanging off the mat. "We have ourselves a new champ. All the way from Washington state, let's give it up for Aden Woods!"

Jake throws off his head gear before sitting up, crossing his arms over his chest. He can't believe he lost on a technicality.

"Hey, man, good spar." His opponent says, tapping him on the shoulder.

Jake doesn't want to turn around, but Marcus scolds them both. "Come on, guys. Let's shake on it."

Jasper and Monty help him to his feet and then push him towards his opponent. He doesn't expect he'd find a spitting image of himself staring back at him, wide eyed and frozen still.

Jake lets the initial shock wear off and scoffs at the kid who just beat him. "We gonna shake hands or not?"

Aden winces and reaches out to shake Jake's hand, not taking his eyes off him for a second.

"Dude, what's the matter with you?

"Don't you see it?" Aden asks.

"See what?" Jake deflects. If he doesn't acknowledge it, no one else will notice.

"As if." Jake scoffs more indignantly this time around. "I don't look like a loser."

"That's a lot of talk for someone who just got crushed in a sparring match, Griffin." Aden says, taking a step closer in challenge.

"Alright, boys, let's break it up." Marcus says, approaching them. He turns to Jake, "Aden." Then he turns to Aden, "Jake?" Then he just stops and steps back. "Okay, wow."

They glare at each other until their friends decide to pull them back to their cabins. But one thing's for sure. Just because they look alike, it doesn't mean they have to get along."

***

"Dude, how'd you even get that in here?" Lincoln asked intrigued.

Roan shrugs. "Not like they checked our bags. I'm sure other kids get away with far worse. Besides, you'd call a Nintendo 64 a contraband? They did give us a TV."

"They told us it was broken."

"Yeah, like I'd fall for that." Roan rolls his eyes and turns the 'broken' TV on.

Lincoln nods thoughtfully, then turns to Aden. "Yo, Woods. You in?"

Roan explains, "Super Smash Bros."

Aden grins and catches the green controller with ease.

He remembers how Mom had banned card and board games for years because Anya and Raven wouldn't go easy on him. He always ended up crying and Mom wouldn't have any more of it. Raven came home one day from the thrift store with this box and a bunch of gray cartridges. Mom had to relent because it was neither a card nor board game. But she did threaten to take it away, regardless. Luckily she didn't, and he was able to redeem himself all those years of lost games. Anya had never been more proud,and Raven had never been closer to tears.

It's not any different here. Word gets around about Roan's contraband that the surrounding cabins are huddled in their cabin. Soon enough, Roan and Lincoln let the others play to see if anyone can beat Aden.

News travels really fast around Camp Jaha. Before long, Jake Griffin walks in with a cocky grin. "Mind if I take a stab at it?"

Aden eyes the floppy-haired boy. "Take a seat, Griffin."

They play three rounds.

Aden dominates the first round; Link sending Fox off the edge in less than 30 seconds.

Jake dominates the next, Fox lasting Link away within a minute.

Before the last round, Jake hits pause and addresses Aden, "Alright, Woods, let's make this interesting. "

"I'm listening."

"Loser has to jump into the lake." Jake grins.

"Great."

"Naked."

"Even better."

"Alright, Woods. You're on."

Jake resumes the game and the match lasts longer than the other two combined now that they know how the other plays. Aden technically has the upperhand until Jake pulls a special combo that sends Link off the edge with little time to react.

Aden goes pale. And he thinks he probably blacks out because the next thing he remembers is coming to the surface. His clothes are gone. Everyone's run off.

Everyone except for Lincoln and Roan. They stand at the edge of the dock with a towel, averting their eyes until he can take the towel.

"Thanks, guys." He says, stepping forward and sighing. "You know what this means, right?"

Roan nods, but Lincoln shakes his head innocently.

"This is war."

***

"How come your rocket got so much height?" Jake pouted.

Monty grins, "Because I didn't rush anything unlike you."

Jake sighs, "I just wanted it to blast off."

"At least your evil twin wasn't glaring at your form across the lake." Jasper says. "I think he's got issues."

"I don't want to think about evil twins right now." Jake walks faster, following Monty into the cabin. "I just want to sleep until dinner."

He bumps into Monty, who just states, "That looks highly unlikely, bro."

Jake pushes past him."And why not?"

Monty gestures around to the entire room being covered in saran wrap before poking his pillow. "This is why not."

***

Aden is always the first one to wake in his cabin. Roan likes his sleep, and Lincoln doesn't sleep until 3 in the morning. He stretches and gets out of bed. He accidentally trips on something that sends water balloons all around him.

Lincoln and Roan are awake now, being hit by water balloons in their sleep.

"What's going on?" Roan grunts, glaring at Aden.

Aden says flatly, "Can you guess?"

"If you don't kill him, I will." Roan replies simply.

Aden is ready to agree when a huge balloon falls on his head. "That moppy haired jerk belongs with the wolves."

***

It happens in a blur, really.

Jake tried to stop Marcus from walking straight into a trap of honey and feathers. But, Aden might as well have dragged him in with his innocent act.

Next thing they know, they're packing their bags to be sent to Polaris, the Isolation Cabin.

It's where they'll be spending the remaining 5 weeks of camp. This is the alternative to phone calls home. Aden glares at Jake like he's going to kill him in his sleep the first night.

Jake can only sigh.

It's going to be a long 5 weeks.

***

A week passes. A week full of glares and avoiding any contact at all. They really just want to survive the rest of camp without starting a war or killing each other.

It's stormy out so Jake figures Aden can't go outside to bond with the trees or whatever it is he does. Not that Jake really cares. It's just Aden's current presence in the cabin makes him feel a little lonely.

He just misses home, misses the freedom. This is some cruel and unusual punishment having to be stuck with his worst enemy. To make matters worse, his nemesis shares his face. Even if said nemesis keeps to himself and the only time they ever butt heads is when Jake wants to go to sleep while Aden is writing or reading.

Okay, so maybe it's really not that bad, but they're essentially still in solitary confinement together. And it makes Jake feel a little trapped, makes him miss home.

The windows rattle against the frail frames of the old cabin, which they assume is older than many of the cabins in camp. It actually seems forgotten, if anything. If camp was a space station, Polaris would've been that sector left behind. So, the windows rattle and Jake's still trying to put up pictures from home on the wall.

It gets colder as the wind starts to pick up with determined force, but the two inhabitants of Polaris are still decidedly not speaking to each other.

Another gust of wind slams against the already rattling windows. This time, it's triumphant in getting past the cracked window and blowing away most of Jake's hard work. Pictures go flying as Jake leaps forward to shut the window. To his dismay, it's stuck. He's tugging but it still doesn't budge.

Aden notices right away and hops off his bed to aid his cabin mate. After a few tries, the window slides shut.

Everything in the room settles, including the tension and the remaining animosity between them. All that's left is relief, calm and curiosity.

Jake laughs, looking at Aden. "Thanks, man."

Aden shrugs, offering a small smile in return. "No problem." He glances at the letter of paper next to the wall. "Anything ruined?"

"Thankfully, not." Jake sighs as he picks up the pictures. "Except, I'm sure this picture of Octavia and Artemis has seen far better days."

Aden tilts his head. "Who?"

"Oh," Jake shows his cabin-mate the picture-- a brunette smiling with an equally smiley Alaskan Malamute. "Octavia's my Ma's best friend, and Artemis is our dog."

Aden nods and waits for Jake to place the pile of pictures in a cluttered mess on the table. Aden wants to arrange it for him, but he refrains. Instead, he simply listens to Jake blabber on; it appears Aden's opened a floodgate.

"Hey," Jake says, suddenly tilting his head. "How old are you?"

"I'm turning 12 on October 11th."

Jake's eyes widen. "Dude, me too!'

"Whoa, that's weird." Aden says, a little confused. He's never met someone with the same birthday, nonetheless someone with the same face.

"Totally." Jake agrees. "Where you from again?" He realizes they haven't really had a chance to be on good terms, and now is better than never.

"Outskirts of Seattle."

"Whoa, that's cool."

"Yeah, Mom owns a huge property and experiments with landscape design when we're not looking." Aden turns to Jake. "What about you?"

"DC."

"Now, that's cool."

"Oh, yeah. For sure. Ma's a self-proclaimed art-junkie so we practically live down the street from her art gallery."

Aden nods. "My mom probably would've done the same thing with her office in Seattle if she didn't love the idea of having a backyard."

Jake takes a seat next to Aden on the bed. "What are your parents like? Are they the type to be like 'talk to you later, hon' but never do? Ma's not like that, of course. But you'd be surprised how many people's parents are, you know?"

"No, Mom's not like that either." Aden sighs as he's not particularly fond of this conversation whenever he makes new friends. Luckily enough, he got to avoid it with Lincoln and Roan. "I don't have a dad."

Jake nods, tilting his head, but Aden doesn't feel any judgment or pity, like most people do. It seems like he's thinking, like he understands. So Aden continues. "I mean, obviously, I had a biological one, but he was never in the picture."

"Oh, definitely. For sure." Jake says . "Same with me and Ma."

The other boy looks up in surprise. "So, do you ever get curious about your biological father?"

They're both silent for a few moments. They'd be lying if they said they weren't curious about the other half of their genetic makeup.

Jake breaks the silence first, shaking his head. "No, actually. Ma sat me down when I was little with Uncle Bell and Octavia. She told me about the whole turkey baster thing, though I'm not really sure I know exactly how that works." He pulls his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on top of his knees. "Ma explained she had me with another woman and the sperm donation was anonymous."

Aden goes incredibly quiet. He had a scarily similar conversation with his mom and Anya. That was when his mom showed him a picture of who was supposed to be his other mom- blue eyes, blonde hair and a smile that lit up his world in a way that only Mom was capable.

"But you know," Jake pulls him out of his reverie. "She's really beautiful."

Aden looks up at Jake, who kind of has this dazed smile on his face. "How do you know?"

Jake doesn't seem fazed, probably because he doesn't know what Aden knows about these startling coincidences they've just shared about their respective childhoods. He just keeps talking. "Oh, Ma had this photo of her that I was obsessed with. I kind of begged to keep it. The rain suddenly stops and Jake takes the moment to listen to his stomach. "Oh, dude, let's get lunch." This boy and his priorities.

Aden doesn't follow him out the door, but instead stares at his trunk.

Jake notices he doesn't follow so he turns back around. "Hey, come on. Rain's stopped, and lunch is calling." He's grinning until he notices how solemn Aden looks all of a sudden. "You alright?"

"I dunno." Aden admits and he finally asks the question that's been eating at him since they met. "None of this feels strange to you?"

"Should it?" Choosing to remain oblivious and nonchalant, Jake then suggests, "Maybe you're like me when you're hungry. I get kind of weird when I'm not fed."

Aden's mind is just reeling at this point, frustrated that this could be the most important moment of their lives to date and Jake's choosing to his stomach. So, he starts pacing, a trait he picked up from Mom. She does this when she's thinking, except she's more calm about it. Right now he's panicking and probably wearing tracks in the floor. "You grew up without a dad, and so did I. All you have of your other mom is a photo, but your picture's probably a lot better than my torn one" The moment he mentions his own picture, Jake pushes past him and goes directly for his trunk. This causes Aden to stop his rambling. "What are you doing?"

Jake finally finds what he's looking for, turning around with bright, scared eyes and a picture clutched to his chest. He takes a deep breath. "I need to find this. It's a picture of my mom- my other mom- also not a full picture."

Aden blinks rapidly before grabbing his journal and fishing out a similarly sized photo. "This one's mine."

Jake lets out a shaky breath as he takes a step in front of Aden. "Okay, on the count of three we'll show them."

Aden nods, starting off the count, "One…"

"…two…"

"…three!"

They hold out their respective pictures next to each other. A unified gasp escapes them as they stare at the reality they hold in their hands.

"That's my Mom!"

"That's my Ma!"

There they are: Clarke and Lexa. While Lexa's in a white blouse, wearing a smile and raised eyebrow, directly staring at the lens, Clarke's in ablack dress wearing a cheeky smile and her gaze just missing the lens.

Jake shakes his head. "And to think, I wanted food." He laughs. "But, I got this instead!"

"What? A full picture?" Aden asks dryly.

"Aden," Jake says with a full grin. "We're twins!"

They share a hug, laughing with pure joy. Neither of them could have ever predicted this in a million years.

***

With their beds pushed up next to each other and the picture of their moms on the wall above their heads, the newly discovered twins spend the evening chatting away about their lives.

"What's Mom like?"

"She owns a landscape design company with Anya. They've been getting more popular. She's been doing weddings and stuff lately."

"Really? That's cool."

Aden nods but then turns to face his brother. "Hey, Jake. Has Ma ever gotten close to getting remarried?"

"She dates, but they never last very long honestly." Jake admits.

"Same with Mom."

Jake suddenly bolts upright. "I have an idea!"

Aden hesitates. "Please tell me this isn't about food."

"No, silly." Jake turns back to his brother. "Even better, I promise-- Just don't freak, okay?" He waits for Aden to sit up. "What if he switch places?"

Aden stares at him incredulously. "What? Are you crazy?"

"For wanting to meet Mom?" Jake fires back. "I mean, aren't you even a little curious about Ma?"

Aden would be lying if he said he wasn't. He tries to make sure his brother has fully worked this out. "How are we going to pull this off?"

"Easy." Jake says without a beat. "I teach you to be me and you teach me to be you. Tell each other everything about our lives and at the end of camp, you go back to DC as me and I'll go back to Washington as you." Jake brings out puppy dog eyes. "Come on, bro. I gotta meet Mom."

Aden's resolve starts to crumble, especially as his twin is practically begging and whining about not being able to meet Mom. Aden feels a little bad that Jake's never met Mom-- the picture he's been coveting for half his life doesn't do her enough justice. Now he's sitting here wondering the same about Ma. Then, something occurs to him. "Well, you know, if we switch places. They're going to have to switch us back eventually."

"And they'll have to meet again." Jake says it like it was an obvious answer to begin with. He holds out his fist so Aden can deliver a fist-bump. He grins. "Told you I'm a genius."

Aden shakes his head. "Raven's gonna love you, you know."

"Of course she will! I'll be you, remember?"

They decide to sleep on it after that. Tomorrow marks the beginning of a month's worth of preparation for the big switch.

***

They spend the first day clearing out Jake's pictures and replacing them with drawings and pictures of their homes and the people they live with.

The Griffin penthouse in Downtown DC takes up half the wall while the Woods 3-acre property in Washington takes up the other half. Pictures of Clarke, Grandma Abby, Octavia, Uncle Bell, and the Griffin's Alaskan Malamute named Artemis are pinned up under the Griffin half. Pictures of Lexa, Raven, Anya and Grandpa Gus are located under the Woods half

Once they complete the Recon Wall as Jake calls it, they agree to go over all the details every morning at breakfast for the remainder of camp.

They're committed.

***

They learn a great deal about each other's childhoods, except finding there was a significant resemblance in how they were raised.

Octavia and Uncle Bell had helped Ma raise Jake as Grandma Abby worked as a full-time doctor. Grandpa Jake, who he had called Pop, could only help so much before he passed away from cancer a number of years ago. The Blakes, being their roommates, were his babysitters and taught him how to fight. ("so, that's where you learned your subpar sparring from.") They had to stop the self-defense lessons when Ma found out.

Raven and Anya were fixtures in Aden's childhood for as long as he could remember. While Anya taught him kickboxing, Raven taught him how to pick locks in case he ever got kidnapped and needed to escape. ("Washington's that hardcore, huh?") Anya, Lexa's sister, lives in the city but visits often primarily for game nights, primarily to kick Raven's butt, but also to talk business with Lexa. Raven lives above the garage so as not to disturb Grandpa Gus when she's working all night.

***

"Artemis is a rescue we got when I was around five or six. O and Bell thought I needed a guard dog. So, Ma went to the pound and came back with her. They say she's a mix, but we're pretty sure she's full Malamute. There's no other way to explain why she looks like a bear." Jake shrugs. "Ma said it was pretty much love at first sight or something."

***

"Now, An can be seriously intimidating, but all you have to do is hold her glare for more than ten seconds." Aden grins triumphantly. "She might be tough as nails, but she has a soft spot for me…and, you, for that matter. But don’t call her aunt. She hates that."

***

"Don't be alarmed when O and Bell practically smother you, okay?" Jake warns Aden. "They always wanted a younger sibling. But if you need them to crack, go for Bell first. He's a sucker for puppy dog eyes. He's a big softie."

***

"Rae and I have a secret handshake." Aden informs his twin as they're sitting on the dock on the lake.

"Okay, sounds simple enough." Jake muses, nodding eagerly and getting himself pumped.

"It's kinda complicated." Aden warns him, giving his brother a worried glance. He's never had to teach anyone the handshake before. It's supposed to be secret for a reason.

"Well, I'm clearly the more coordinate done out of the two of us. How hard can it be?" Jake says, standing up to face his brother.

"Griffin, shut up and follow along, alright?" Aden snaps, "Before I shove you into the lake."

Jake immediately shuts his mouth and watches with sharp determination as Aden goes over the series of hand movements. It's kind of like a dance, something he can jive with for the most part.

"Okay, I think I got it, right?"

"You forgot the boom." Jake blinks at him, but Aden explains. "You have to end with a boom. She made that part up!"

Jake refrains from rolling his eyes and instead asks to go over again a few more times.

They keep at it for the rest of the afternoon, until the sun sets and confidence settles between them.

***

They soon find out Aden has Ma's fiery temper, while Jake can be as stoic as Mom. When they come to this realization, they find they have about a week and half before the big switch.

***

"We have to cut your hair, " Aden notes one day.

"Aw, Bell's gonna be upset when he sees you."

"So that's where the floppy hair comes from." Aden rolls his eyes. "Hair does grow back, ya know. I hope you two are aware."

"Don't tell him that." Jake tells him, taking a seat in a chair in front of the mirror. "He's a sensitive guy."

Aden ignores him and rummages through his trunk. He emerges with a hair trimmer. "Ready?"

Jake's eyes widen. "What? Are you crazy?!"

Jake is pretty sure that hair clippers aren't exactly one of the permitted items to camp. Then again, neither was an Nintendo 64.

Aden nods in approval. "You sounded just like me!"

"That's the plan, remember?" Jake huffs, glaring at the trimmer in Aden's hands one last time. "Come on, get rid of my beautiful mane."

Aden shakes his head, and holds his breath until he turns off the trimmer. They look in the mirror and grin at each other. Aden smiles, "I'm thinking we can really pull this off."

All they have to do now is switch.

***

It's the last day of camp and they're both nervous they're about to travel to opposite sides of the country to meet their other moms. This is huge. Potentially dangerous. Absolutely crazy and risky, but they've argued again and again that it'll be worth it in the end.

They walk side by side to the entrance of Camp Jaha, nerves settling between them.

"So, you're going to find out how they met." Aden tells Jake as they stop at the side of the driveway.

Jake nods. "And you're going to find out why they broke up."

"Gosh, do you really think this is going to work?" Aden asks, wringing his hands.

Jake sets his hands on Aden's shoulders. "You think that Mom's amazing, right?" Aden nods. "Well, I think Ma's amazing, so can you only imagine the two of them together?"

That fires something within Aden. "You're right."

"Then, we got this, bro."

"Aden Woods?" One of the camp counselors calls out, announcing his ride.

Aden looks at Jake. "That's you."

They share a quick hug and Jake begins to gather his things. "Give Ma a hug for me."

"Give Mom one for me." Aden replies. He watches as Jake's cab drives off. "Good luck," he whispers, hoping they're not in over their heads here.


	2. i've got so many secrets to show

"Aden, my man!" 

A voice calls out from somewhere behind a large crowd. Jake squares his shoulders and looks for the source of the voice. Surely enough it's who Aden described as Mom's best friend- the engineer consultant with more time on her hands than she knows what to do with.

He grins at her. "Rae!"

She rushes towards him and engulfs him in a hug in the middle of baggage claim. "Hey, kiddo!" She then steps back to offer him a handshake. And Jake knows what that means. "Put her there, champ." 

And he obliges. Just like Aden taught him. And without forgetting the most crucial part. "Boom!"

Raven beams at him. "Bet you missed that. Ready to go home?"

He nods and follows her to the car. 

Raven spends the entire ride home rapping to various 90's hip hop hits, much to Jake's amusement. He's momentarily reminded of Octavia, but he tries to smile too much about it. He does imagine that they'd probably get along real well if they ever met. 

Jake has plenty of time to mentally prepare for meeting Mom, though he's not sure if it really helped. Before he know sit, they're pulling up to a house that looks way better than the pictures on the Recon Wall. Raven wastes no time in rushing him into the house to say hi to his Grandfather. 

He does as he's told, slowly walking into the study. He calls out to the man behind the tall newspaper behind a large oak desk. 

"Grandpa?" 

"Is that my boy?" Gus's voice booms as he sets his newspaper down. He rounds the desk and opens his arms wide. "Let's take a look at you." 

Jake goes to embrace his burly grandfather. He holds on a little tighter as he tries to remember what this grandfather smells like. Pop used to smell like coffee and motor grease. Grandpa Gus smells like aftershave and pipe tobacco. "I missed you, Gramps." 

"We missed having you around, little one." His laugh is gruff but Jake feels safe and warm around him. It must be a grandfatherly thing. 

"Aden?"

A voice that's pulling from an early memory hits him like a stubborn dream. It's coming from outside the study, perhaps up the staircase he saw on his way in. Jake's heart flutters to his stomach. 

Gus must see his reaction and urges him forward. He whispers in a soft timbre. "Go on."

Jake exits the study and looks around. He means to call out for her, but it gets caught in his throat when he finds her-- hair pulled over one shoulder and green eyes shimmering-- at the top of the stairs. He finally breathes out, "Mom."

He rushes up the stairs to meet her halfway. She wraps him in a hug as she peppers kisses all over his hair. HE told himself he wouldn't cry if he ever met her in real life, but now he's thinking she's worth every tear. 

She pulls back to study him with worried furrowed brows, "Aden, what's the matter?" 

"I'm sorry, " Jake says weakly, unsure of excuses when the other mom he's been dreaming of half his life is literally wiping his tears. She's here. Actually in front of him. Holding him. He simply hugs her back and whispers, "I just can't believe it's you."

"8 weeks is a long time, isn't it?" She says as she rubs soothing circles on his back. 

"You've no idea." He admits, "I've missed you so much."

"Oh, honey, I missed you too. "

Raven is suddenly making her way up the stairs with a tray of tea. "Alright, you two saps, let's have some tea. You two clearly need to calm down." She passes them and mutters, "Dramatic, extra apples from the same damn tree."

Lexa rolls her eyes at her best friend, but still places another kiss to Jake's forehead. "Come on, love." 

He follows them to Lexa's bedroom. The three of them settle onto the window seat. Raven tucks her feet under on one side of Jake while Lexa sits with her legs crossed on his other side. 

"So, Aden," Lexa smiles at him, "How was camp?"

"Yeah, buddy." Raven adds shamelessly, "Give us details, unless it's something you don't want your mom to know, then you can give me those details later."

Jake manages not to choke on his tea while Lexa glares at Raven.

"Oh, it was great." He tries to deflect. "I made some friends."

"Did you make them cry like me and An taught you?"

"Raven!" Lexa scolds her friend.

Jake shakes his head. "No, I didn't."

"Slightly disappointed." Raven sighs as she stirs honey into her cup. 

"Raven, I have told you time and again we don't want to instill that kind of behaviour in Aden." Raven ignores her, of course, winking at Jake when Lexa isn't looking. 

Lexa is about to turn it into a full-blown lecture, but as per Raven's luck, her phone goes off. Lexa goes to answer her phone off one of her bedside drawers. 

Jake seizes the opportunity to look around her room. He sips his tea slow, peeking up from his cup. He notes the elaborate candle stand on one side of the bed and the simple night stand on the other side. She has an infuser next to the alarm clock. He's quickly snapped out of his reverie when Raven nudges him to pay attention to his mo.

"Would you hate If I asked you tag along to this project Downtown?" Lexa asks, worried that he's going to be bored and not want to hang out anymore. 

His face lights up. "When do we leave?"

She looks delighted and he makes a mental note to yell at Aden next time he talks to him. 

***

"So, what's the project, Mom?"

She hums and grips the wheel as they drive down the Interstate. It's for this rooftop wedding. They're concerned about my original plan for the arch. "

"Is the wedding today?"

She shakes her head. "They're just taking photos today." Lexa looks over at him. "Are you sure you're okay with tagging along?"

He reassures her, "Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, Mom." 

She smiles at that. And he spends the rest of the trip committing that specific smile to memory. 

When they arrive at the hotel in the middle of Downtown Seattle, the crew appears to have taken a collective sigh of relief. Like Lexa's a superhero or something. He takes the observant backseat to all the mayhem as his mom calls all the shots. 

"Hey, Aden. C'mere." She calls out to him and beckons him over to where she's standing over a large tablet. 

"What is it, Mom?" He asks, curiosity overtaking any intent he had on playing it cool.

"Which design do you think looks better?" She swipes the screen a few times. "The arch could be against the or…" she swipes again, "with it?"

Jake takes a moment and then answers, "With it."

She smiles at him, proud and pleased. "Me too." 

One of the crew members offers Jake a cookie which he accepts. The guy asks, "What do you think of your mom's work?"

"Incredible." He says, in a breathless awe. 

The man chuckles and makes a comment to Lexa, "Cute kid you got, boss." 

She beams, "He's great isn't he?" 

Jake continues to watch from the sidelines, just so he doesn't get in the way. But he continues to watch his mom at work. 

Now, he doesn't really know what it's like to be in love, but he feels like he knows what it looks like. And, if he's being honest, he's only really seen in a handful of times. He imagines that it has to be something akin to the way Ma looks at a painting or photograph that's going in her super-secret art collection. There's a moment in her expression that catches, her breath or perhaps a spark in her eye- like she's taken a breath of fresh air for the first time in her life. 

He wonders if she's ever looked at Mom in the same manner. 

And now he can add another moment, another look, to the handful he has in his belt. He watches Mom's gaze flicker between the sun set high in the sky and the sketchbook in her hand, and for a moment, it all stills. Until finally, she nods thoughtfully, rearranging a few things on the tablet. He sees a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth. He doesn't have to know her for very long to realize what that smile means. He smiles, too, because Mom is too cool, and he wonders vaguely if she's ever looked at Ma with the same twinkle in her eye- like she's looking directly into a galaxy and would let it consume her. 

***

When Lexa finishes up, Jake convinces Lexa to let them roam the city for a bit before going back home. 

"I can't believe you designed that whole rooftop."

"You better." She laughs. "I'm the one who designed our backyard. Which, if I recall, you love." 

He grins. "I do, but a rooftop for a wedding!" He starts to test his luck. "Did you design something for your wedding?"

"My wedding?" Lex asks slightly confused. She laughs again. "I think the city air's getting to your head, buddy." 

"Wait, Mom, I'm serious." He tries gain. "If you're not thinking about a wedding, at least admit you've at least thought about the M word." 

Lexa sputters a bit as they're crossing the street to their car. "The M word?" Lexa flushes a bit red. "Aden!" 

"What?" He blinks at her. " What's wrong with my other mother?"

Lexa shakes her head. "Oh, that M Word." She continues amused. "To answer your question, no I didn't. There was no landscape design when I married the M word. " 

"Why not?" Jake tries not to sound so outraged but the idea sounds criminal when his mom's a landscape artist. 

Lexa stops at the drivers' side of the door and asks, "Why the sudden curiosity about your other mother?"

They both climb into the car and Jake persists. "Well, she's never mentioned." Jake waits for Lexa to start the car. "At least, tell me what she's like?" 

Lexa grips the wheel tightly as she pulls into the road. "She-- well, she's special."  
The hesitation in her voice leads Jake to believe that she doesn't really talk about Ma very much. But, he's on this side of the country for a reason. "So, did you meet here in Seattle?" 

She tilts her head slightly, smiling at the memory. "We met on a train to from Portland to Seattle. Stranded for a night in the city, actually." She looks over at him. "She's an artist, too. "

Jake tries to act surprised. "No kidding."

She's a photographer." Lexa pauses. "Well, that was her favorite hobby, anyway." 

"So was it love at first sight?"

Lexa laughs. "You've been spending too much time with Rae and Anya, you know."

Jake decides to drop the subject, seeing as Lexa appears to be hell-bent on avoiding the topic. Instead, he thinks of home, of Aden, of Ma. 

***

Aden walks off the plan practically a ball of nerves. He tries not to be external about it, but a yappy dog in a carrier makes him jump at least a few inches in the air. After internally collecting himself, eh just looks like he's in pain. He's just hoping no one notices.

"Jake! Jakey!"

Too late. Someone noticed. 

But then he sees her He sees her golden hair, striking blue eyes and warm smile. He feels like he's looking at her picture for the first time, except she's not some figment of his imagination anymore. She's here. She's literally right there. 

So, he takes the leap and rushes toward her, because, gosh, he's missed her so much. 

"Hey, little man." She says emphatically, causing him to hold her tighter in fear that she might vanish in his grasp. She just chuckles at the motion. "You look taller." Then she looks down at him. "And you cut your hair. Bell's gonna love that. "

"Do you like it?"

She nods with a wide smile. "You look very handsome."

He pulls back to take a good look at her. 

She makes a face. "What? Did I screw up my makeup?"

He shakes his head, talking a deep breath. He just smiles at her. "You know, you look taller to me, too, Ma."

She kisses his cheek. "Great to have you back, J."  
They walk to the car, all smiles, when Aden remembers to ask about everyone else. "So how's everything here, Ma? How's O and Uncle Bell?"

"They're fine. Bored without you, but through the roof you're coming home finally. " She starts the engine. "A lot of things have changed since you left, J." 

Aden winces. "A lot has changed with me, too, Ma."

She laughs and he's grateful she doesn't push it. He tried to tell his brother that Aden Woods is terrible at lying. Out of all the things he could inherit from his Mom, it had to be the inability to tell a lie. 

They're well out of the airport and enroute to the Griffin's place when she starts to ask questions. Aden hopes he can make it without her figuring him out.

"So, bud, how was camp?" She looks at him, genuinely interested. 

"Oh, it was a blast. We had a great time."

"We?" She asks.

Aden swallows and panics for a fraction of a second. There's supposed to be no knowledge of a twin counterpart. There is no 'we'. "Oh, yeah, a boy I met at camp. We hung out the entire time." He nods enthusiastically. "Like bros." 

"So, did you beat him up or did he beat you at something?" She looks at him with a knowing look. 

"Ma, how'd you know?"

"Please, who do you think gave you those brilliant social skills?" She winks at him.

He lifts his chin slightly. "Well , I decided to stop. Turn over a new leaf. Be friendlier." 

She reaches over to check his forehead. "Are you okay? My misanthrope of a son wants to be friendly to society?"

Aden grumbles, "Well, I don't have to fight everyone." He crosses his arms, "Just a select few." 

She laughs full and loud before ruffling his hair. "There he is."

When Aden looks out the window, he sees the building that Jake had on the Recon Wall. "Oh my god." 

"I knew the charm of home would bring you right back."

They take the elevator to the top floor. He doesn't really know what to expect when the doors open, but he surely doesn't expect a tiny brunette to practically tackle him. 

"Welcome back, Jakey!" 

Aden laughs and pats her on the back. "Hey, O. You didn't miss me, huh?"

"Absolutely not." Octavia pulls back. "I was perfectly fine without you."

Clarke rolls her eyes at her best friend. "She's lying. She was a downright mess." 

Before Octavia has a chance to respond, a large Alaskan Malamute, the color of red clay dusting its fur around its face and ears, jumps off the couch and pursues Aden. He tries not to balk at her size because she's gigantic, but she's barking and it's kind of shaking him to his bones a little. Jake wasn't kidding when he said Artemis was like a bear. He nonchalantly tries to greet her. "Hey, Artemis!"

She continues to bark at him, but Octavia shakes her head and wags her finger at the oversized dog. Artemis immediately recoils. "You big goof. It's just Jake. What's the matter with you." Aden's not sure why she listens to Octavia, who might be half her weight, but Artemis bounds back to the couch where she was. Octavia sighs. "She must be getting old. Two months and a haircut is enough for her to not recognize you." 

Aden tries to defend the dog who was about to blow his cover because technically-speaking, the dog noticed the difference. "I probably smell like camp and this pesky Chihuahua that was next to me on the plane."

Octavia nods. "Yeah, she hates those little things." Then she pulls him in for another hug. "As I was saying, I didn't know what to do without my partner in crime." She grins at him. " So do you wanna unpack?" She lowers her voice so Clarke doesn't hear. "Or do you wanna pretend to unpack but not really and wait for your Ma to yell at us?"

"O, stop corrupting my child!" Clarke calls from what Aden can only assume is the kitchen. She pops her head out so she can glare at them, but specifically at Octavia. "When you're done actually unpacking, come meet me on the balcony. There's someone I want you to meet. "

"For sure, Ma." Aden responds watching as Clarke walks out to the patio to greet someone who was not part of the Recon Wall. He whispers to Octavia, as he follows her to Jake's room, "who's that?"

"That," Octavia says with a face, "is your mother's new marketing agent for the gallery and some of her commission work. Octavia rolls her eyes as she unzips his duffel. "But, he seems to be charming himself to her more than anything else." 

"So, are they, like, together?" Aden asks. He's trying really hard to process this.

"They spend all their time together. Every meal. Practically every waking moment. She takes him along to all her commission work. They go biking together." Octavia fake gags. "It's definitely for more than work, I'll tell you that much." 

Aden chooses not to think about hat implication and instead asks, "does he even like her?" 

"He sure as hell comes off like he does." A low voice says from behind them. Aden turns to find Bellamy leaning against the door frame. 

"Uncle Bell!" Aden rushes towards him. 

"Hey, bud." Bellamy grins down at him, until he notices his hair. "You cut your hair."

Aden looks a little guilty. "Is it bad?"

Bellamy shakes his head. "It's great, bud. You pull it off better than I ever could." He then turns his attention to his sister. "I thought Mr. Lucky Charms would clear out once Jake returns from camp." 

"We could have only hoped." Octavia frowns.

Aden looks between the Blake siblings, "Lucky charms?"

Bellamy elaborates, "He's only lucky enough to land your Ma because you were away for camp. Otherwise none of his charm would have stood a chance."

Octavia chimes in. "Thus, Lucky Charms." She continues," But don't let us influence you. You should go meet him."

***

Aden stalls for as long as he can before Octavia and Bellamy push him through the patio doors. He's immediately greeted. 

"There's the man of the house!" 

Aden braces himself and smiles as polite as he can at the man lounging on the patio furniture. He's got floppy brown hair and kind eyes. If he wasn't actually presenting a huge wrench in a very well-thought out plan, Aden might not have any issues with his first impression. 

"Jake, this is Finn Collins." Clarke says, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. 

"Hello, Finn Collins." 

Finn stands up and stretches out his hand. "I've heard lots about you, young man."

Aden offers a grin. "All good things, I hope." 

Clarke laughs, wrapping an arm around Aden's shoulders. "You really need to stop hanging out with the Blakes so much." 

"Well," Finn starts, and Aden can already feel both and his and Finn's interest start to wane dramatically. "I hope we can hang out and get to know each other before you have to go back to school." Finn flashes a classic smile, and Aden just can't get himself to fall for that kind of charm.

"Yeah, sure." Aden says, trying to keep a straight face. "Can't wait." 

***

It's almost midnight when Aden decides he needs to make the phone call to Jake. Clarke's out on a date with Finn. Octavia's in her room, and judging by the music coming from her room, she's probably not going to overhear any phone calls. Bell's been out since dinner finished. If there was a perfect time to sneak in a phone call to his brother he's not to know exists, it would be now.

He dials home and prays that he doesn't get chewed out for calling so close to nine.

"Woods residence," sounds Raven's partially disinterested greeting on the other end. He imagines that she's probably got one of her contraptions nearby, if not in her hands. 

Aden starts to speak, "Hello--"

"--Aden?" Raven's tone changes. This is followed by a muffled conversation on the other end. Raven asks, "I'm sorry. Who were you looking for?"

"Aden."

She sounds surprised, but luckily hands the phone over. 

Jake's voice thankfully rings though. "Hey, Blake! How's it going?" Jake is unsurprisingly too good at this kind of thing. It's slightly concerning. "Hold on, let me just go into the other room."

Aden hears some rustling followed by a door slamming shut. "Are you in the staircase closet?"

"Did you want to speak in private or not?" Jake is probably rolling his eyes, but that doesn't stop him from rambling on. "Dude, Mom's amazing! I cannot believe it took us 11 years to--"

Aden interrupts because Jake isn't likely to stop any time soon. "Jake, not now. We have a serious problem in our hands." 

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Ma's seeing someone." 

Jake laughs it off. "I told you already. Ma doesn't date…not for long, anyway." He's as nonchalant as ever. "Just break 'em up, usual sabotage. Don't tell me you haven't tried this kind of stuff on any of Mom's suitors before?" 

All Aden does is sigh.

So, Jake continues to offer fighting words. "Look, if you can bring me down, then you can surely bring this guy-- it's a guy, right?-- down." 

"Except, I've only met Ma like 12 hours ago." Aden tries to hold in a whine. "You have to bring Mom over here and help me out. And soon!" 

"No way, A. I just got here! And I want more time with Mom!" Jake says definitively. "I'm absolutely positive that you've got this." 

The line goes dead.

***

Aden trudges out the next morning and sits at the kitchen island next to Octavia, who's shoveling oatmeal into her mouth, as Bellamy prepares food in the kitchen.

Octavia takes a short break from eating to greet him. "Morning, champ." He barely turns to smile when she asks, "Long night?"

Aden mumbles into the glass of orange juice Bellamy handed him, "something like that."

"O, give him some slack." Bellamy says before looking at Aden pointedly. "I'd sleep in too if I were making mysterious phone calls in the middle of the night."

This causes Octavia to snicker at Aden, who's choking into his orange juice.

"Oh, that. I was calling a friend from camp. He lives in London, so I wanted to account for the…" 

Octavia quirks an eyebrow and finishes his sentence for him, "…the time difference?"

"Yeah, exactly that." Aden just goes with it, just like he imagines Jake would. "The time difference."

"So you wanted to wait until it was 5 in the morning his time." Octavia looks to her brother. 

Bellamy raises his eyebrows. "That makes perfect sense, doesn't it, O?"

"Oh, but he's on vacation with his family in Australia, so it was really 2 in the afternoon his time." 

Bellamy and Octavia stare at him blankly. He just smiles dumbly back at them. 

Octavia shakes her head. "Okay, boy genius. Head down to the gallery when you're done with breakfast." 

"What for?"

Bellamy shrugs, leaning forward against the island. "Your Ma says she wanted to talk to you about something."

"Did she say about what?" 

Octavia merely shakes her head. "Just to meet her at the gallery." She eats another bite of oatmeal before she remembers, "and to bring your bike." 

Aden nods before gulping down the rest of his orange juice. "I'll see you guys later, then." 

"You're not gonna eat?" Bellamy asks, throwing a worrying glance at his sister who simply shrugs. 

Aden shakes his head. "Not feeling up to it today. Thanks for the juice, though, Bell." 

He's halfway to the door when Bellamy calls out to him. Uh, J, Your bike?" 

"Oh, right. I'm just gonna go get that." He runs to Jake's room and pulls the bike mounted on the wall. 

He's almost where he was before when Octavia clears her throat. " Helmet?" 

"I was just gonna put my bike in the foyer before I…" Aden's shoulders drop and he quickly runs to the room again. "I got it!" 

He's finally got everything set when Artemis decides to wake from her slumber on the couch to bark at him. He chuckles nervously, trying to brush it off. "What's up with this dog, huh?" 

***

Jake is totally winning at table tennis and Raven is borderline pouting. 

"This is no fair. Did they teach you how to play better at camp?"  
Jake's about to spew off a rebuttal but someone beats him to it: "Aden's just better. Admit it, Reyes."

It's Anya. She grins and winks at Jake.

Jake grins back. "Hey, An."

Raven goes full-blown pout and calls out to Lexa. "Lex, your sister and son are ganging up on me!" 

Lexa, who's sipping on her tea at the kitchen table, merely sighs. She's obviously used to this kind of nonsense as she doesn't even look up at them. "Guys, be nice." Then she adds, "Rae, grow up."

Raven huffs at the response while Jake just hugs Anya and grins up at her. 

He could totally get used to having more family like this. Best idea ever. 

***

Clarke's jotting down a few notes in her Moleskin when Aden walks through the doors. He sets the bike up against the wall. 

"Hey, buddy." She smiles warmly at him. "You know, I typically have to bribe to hang out with me."

He rolls his eyes but smiles at her anyway. "Your company is enough today."

She smiles wider, if possible. "Here I thought you were getting too cool for your Ma." 

Aden shakes his head. "Not today." 

"Great!" She messes with his hair and then announces, "So there's something I wanna talk to you about." 

"Oh," Aden says. "Me too, actually." He pauses. "What's your thing?"

She clears her throat as she's grabbing her own bike from her office. "Well, it's about Finn."  
"And I wanna talk about my other mom." Then, he backtracks, "Wait, what about Finn?"

Clarke has trouble getting her bike past the door, suddenly flustered. "What about your mom?"

"We have to talk about her eventually, don't we?" 

"Oh," Clarke makes a face. "We've talked about her." She grunts, finally getting her bike through.

"No, we haven't. Not really!" Aden protests. "Come on, Ma. I need a second parent."

They exit to the sidewalk before she starts talking again. "And I agree." She waits for him to get past the doors. "Which brings me to--"

Aden grimaces when he sees Finn strolling up in a nice suit and that charming smile of his. 

"Finn." Clarke manages to finish her sentence. 

"Hey, Clarke." He smiles at her, then at Aden. "Hey there, Jake." 

Aden waves weakly

"Just dropping by to see if you wanted to grab lunch." 

Clarke looks at him apologetically. "Told Jake here that we'd hang out today."

"And that is totally fine." Finn smiles and it kind of makes Aden want to gag. "I've got some more ads to work on." He winks at her. "We're gonna put you at the top of the art world, Clarke."

***

"Alright J, I’m calling it! Clarke calls out from behind Aden, slightly out of breath. "Give your Ma a break, yeah?"

Aden pulls off the bike path in the park, taking a swig from his water bottle. 

Clarke finally catches her breath, taking a look around the scenic park before turning to look at Aden.

"So," Clarke levels Aden's gaze. "What do you think of Finn?"

"As what Ma?" Aden asks, trying to deflect. "You publicist? Friend? As-"

"-just as a person, I guess?" Clarke presses, "What do you think of him?"

Aden thinks about it for a second and decides to answer honestly. "He's got good hair, a good smile, but other than that, the man's a complete stranger me." 

"About that…I was thinking--"

And here it comes- Aden's propensity for being a flight risk. He readjust on his bike and hollers "-race you back home, Ma!" 

He knows it's not fair to leave Ma hanging like that, not to mention to completely cut her off. But, this is a little too much, if that conversation was going where he thinks it was going.

He arrives back at the apartment, shoving the bike against the foyer wall and tossing his helmet haphazardly next to it. He tries to take calming breaths as he starts pacing the living room, but it actually just sounds like he's hyperventilating. 

"Okay, who am I kidding? I'm not ready for this. I'm officially way in over my head here." He babbles out loud, still wearing tracks into the carpet. "I'm literally just one kid--"

"--you wanna speak a little louder for the people in the back, bud?" 

Aden visibly jumps, holding back a scream. He doesn't expect Octavia to be napping o the couch. 

"While we're at it, wanna talk about why you've been acting so strange lately?" Octavia is standing in front of him now, hands on her hips. "Why doesn't Artemis ever come near you? Why has your appetite changed? Why do you suddenly seem so forgetful around the house?"

Aden tries to calm himself down, tries to even his voice, when all he wants to do is confess. "I've just changed a lot over the summer, O. That's all."

Octavia studies him briefly before shaking her head. "Boy, if I didn't know any better, I would've thought you were--" she stops herself. 

Aden urges her, "though I was who, Octavia?"

Octavia dodges, tries to turn around and walk away. "Forget it. I didn't say any--"

"--thought I'd be Aden?" Aden challenges her, holding his ground because there's no going back now.

Octavia turns around slowly. "How…do you know about Aden?"

"Because I…" he breathes out, relieved to let this secret go, "am Aden."

Octavia lets out a gasp, her eyes going wide and filling with tears. 

Before Octavia could respond properly, Clarke comes barging through the front door. She's out of breath and clearly very flustered. "Buddy, I was trying to tell you something. You can't just--" she stops mid-sentence when she sees the expression on Octavia's face. "Octavia, what the hell? Why are you looking at my son like that?"

Octavia clears her throat and blinks away tears. "I'm not looking at him any special way. I’m looking at him like I always have." She coos at him, "but he's so big and so handsome." She pulls him into an embrace and Aden takes a little comfort in it all-- the fact that Octavia still loves him. She pulls back and wipes her tears. "Okay, I'm gonna find Bell, and we're gonna make you the best dinner. How about that?" 

Octavia hurries off in search of her brother, leaving behind Clarke and Aden to finish their conversation. 

Clarke simply shakes her head. "You know, normally I would ask, but there's something else I want to talk to you about."

Aden takes a steely breath. "Okay, shoot."

Clarke sits him down on the couch, kneeling in front of him. "How do you feel about making Finn a part of the family?"

Aden nods thoughtfully before exclaiming, "Oh, I think that's a fabulous idea, Ma."

Clarke looks surprised, "Really?"

Aden smiles, "Well, yeah, Ma. It'll be great having another roommate!" 

Clarke hesitates, "Wait-I-honey, I think you've misinterpreted what I'm saying."

"No I didn't." Aden persists, "You're gonna give him a place to live. And it's the sweetest thing, Ma. Really."

Clarke shakes her head and places hands on his shoulders. "Jake, I’m not going to give him a place to live." She continues very cautiously, "I'm…going to marry him."

Aden loses it. All he sees is red. He's up and pacing, nearly knocking Clarke off her feet as he passes her. "Marry him? You've only met him! How are you supposed to marry a man you just met?!" 

"Whoa, buddy, calm down." Clarke says, trying to soothe him. "Come on, let's talk this out."

Aden takes another breath, "Right, let's talk about this."

"Good. I’m glad you feel that way." Clarke replies, pushing his hair back. 

But then he thinks about it again. "Ma, you can't! You just can't! You'll ruin everything!" Aden runs off to Jake's room and slams the door, leaving Clarke on the couch beside herself. 

Octavia and Bellamy are slowly making their way out the door. Octavia just waves and announces, "Don't look at us. We don't know a damned thing!" 

Clarke rolls her eyes as the front door clicks shut.

***

"Hey, Jake, I hear you didn't take the news of the engagement very well."

Aden doesn't turn his head as he leans against the ledge of the balcony. He's actually hoping that Finn would just take the hint and go away if he's not being acknowledged. 

Finn continues talking. Of course. "I get it. I would hate if my parents got remarried."

Aden exhales, "Look, as much as I understand you want to connect or bond or whatever….you really don't have to. You don't know what's going on here."

Finn tries again. "Maybe not, but I could try?"

"Nice try." Aden rolls his eyes at the insincere efforts. "I just don’t necessarily trust you."

"Well, your mom does."

Aden lets his shoulders drop because he's tired of trying to put up an act for someone who won't even try to match him. "Look, you seem great and all. Ma totally digs your charm." Aden pauses, noting the way Finn's smile grows confident. "That's all cool, but isn't marriage more than just sex and money?"

Finn clenches his jaw. "Look here, buddy. I do love your mom and she agreed to marry me. That's enough for me. Should be enough for you."

Aden glares at his back as he walks back into the apartment.

***

Raven is elbow deep in dish soap after losing yet another round of table tennis, except this time against Anya. She hears the fax machine go off in the butler's pantry. 

"Hey, A, go check the fax for me." She calls out. "And if it's more junk, just stick the whole damn thing in recycling! I keep telling your mom it's time to let go of that ancient artifact."

"Sure thing, Rae." Jake responds, partially looking for the machine. When he sees the contents of the print, his stomach drops. 

***

The phone rings once and Aden picks up immediately. "Jake?"

"Dude, what's up?"  
"Ma's getting married!"

"Married?" Jake repeats slowly. 

"It's pretty serious, Jake. We're all going to Seattle because that's Finn's parents want the wedding to be. You have to bring Mom. "

"Okay." Aden can practically hear the gears in Jake's head working over the phone. "I'll tell her first thing." 

"Please do. We'll be at the Four Seasons this weekend, so whatever you gotta do, do it fast."  
"Okay, okay. Yeah. Just stall until I can get Mom there, okay?"  
"And Jake…good luck!" 

"You too, dude." 

***

Jake goes to put the phone away when he bumps into Grandpa Gus, who gives him an expectant look. 

"Uh oh." Gus smiles down at Jake. "Wanna tell me what's going on?"  
Jake audibly gulps. "It's a long story?"

He quirks an eyebrow and lets out a gruff chuckle. "Your mother has 3 acres worth of land…would that be enough for this…long story?" 

Jake still looks hesitant. 

Gus places a hand on his shoulder and squeezes, before leading him out the back door. "Come on."

***

Jake stands frozen outside Lexa's bedroom door while Lexa's on the phone. Gus clears his throat and whispers, "Just rip that bandaid off, Jake."

Gus pushes him through the doors about the same time Lexa finishes the call. 

"Hey, you." She pats the empty side of her bed. "I have one project I have to check in on, but after that how would you like to roam around Pike Place?" 

Jake climbs into her bed and just blurts, "I wish I could but I have to go out of state."

Lexa looks at him, amused. "And why is that?" 

Jake covers himself with the covers, so Lexa tires to prod him out. "Aden, come on."

"That's why I have to go. I have to see Aden!" 

Lexa furrows her brows. "And…where exactly is Aden?"

Jake reappears from under the covers, but he still clutches . "In DC with Clarke Griffin." 

Lexa stares at him, eyes widening at the second. Her jaw drops when words fail her. 

Poor Jake can't take the guilt, so he starts apologizing. "I'm sorry. Aden and I met at camp. I really wanted to meet you, so I convinced Aden to trade places. And he agreed because he wanted to meet Ma. And please don't be upset. I just wanted you to love me as me." 

He's crying and he feels like he can't look at her. 

But Lexa just wipes away his tears. "Oh, honey, of course not." She pulls him into her arms. "I've loved you since the day you were born." She pulls back briefly to inform him, "but the sad truth is that technically, Aden belongs to me and you belong to your Ma."

"Did you guys really have to have hers and hers kids?" Jake complains, as Lexa looks at him with endearment. "This whole thing sucks.""I know." She kisses his forehead. "But we'll get this sorted, I promise." 

Somewhere in his gut, he believes that this will work out in the end. He has to believe it, has to believe her when she whispers that it'll be okay over and over again as she holds him in her arms. 

He feels warm, safe and guarded from the world in this moment. For a second, he pretends this isn't as bad as it really is.


	3. raise everything to the ground

"Oh my god, you're such a drama queen, Lex." Anya mutters, "I swear to God." She follows a pacing Lexa Woods around the bedroom. She turns to the mechanic snickering in the corner. "Rae, shut up! You're not helping." 

Raven raises her hands and backs away. "She's your sister."

"That might be," Anya glares at her friend, "but you're her best friend who reminded her that she just promised her child she'd go meet her ex-wife again." 

"Technically," Raven argues, with a smirk, "I said...love of her life." 

Lexa finally finds the pack of matches she's been looking for and starts lighting every object with a wick within a five feet radius of her. 

Anya's on her tail, putting all the candles out. She starts grumbling, "Jesus, Lex, are you trying to calm down or just set us all on fire?"

Raven rolls her eyes and waits for Lexa still before tackling her best friend onto the bed. When Lexa stops trying to thrash out of the engineer's hold on her, Raven tries reasoning with her. "Okay, listen here. You're gonna stop moving and stop giving your sister a headache because, " she throws Anya a glare, "she's giving me a headache." 

"Anything else?" Lexa asks her voice getting muffled into her duvet cover.

Raven nods, "Yes, actually. You're gonna give Raven the matches." 

Lexa complies without any protest, letting Raven grab the matches from her hand.

The engineer smiles triumphantly down at her best friend. "I'm gonna let go slowly, okay?"

Raven slowly climbs off her best friend, and looks expectantly over at Anya to join them. 

Lexa sits up at the edge of the bed. "Sorry."

Raven hands Anya the matches, who slides it in her back pocket. "Now, let's talk about this."

Lexa refuses to look at either them for a full minute before finally admitting, "I'm not sure I can do this."

"And why not?" Anya asks first, "The goal Is to get your kid back."

Raven crosses her arms and narrows her eyes, "The goal is to get your kid back, right?"

"Yeah, of course." Lexa sighs and runs a hand through her untamed mess of curls. "As if 10 years is going to make Clarke not hate me, right?"

"Honestly?" Raven says as Lexa looks up at her best friend with a hopeful expression. "Griffin can sure hold a nasty grudge."

Anya turns and swats at the engineer. "Rae, shut up!"

"Can one of you go with me?" Lexa asks, taking the two off guard.

They stare at her blankly.

Then, Anya decides to speak first. "No can do, sis. Someone's gotta take care of that business of yours while you're gone." She walks into the closet and pulls out the first suitcase she could find. "But, I can help you pack." 

"Fine, if you're gonna beg." Raven says in an exaggerated tone.

"Really?" Lexa looks at her apprehensively.

"Yes." Raven affirms with a roll of her eyes. "Now, get packed before I change my mind."

***

Raven is on the verge of tears from laughter when she pulls up to the hotel driveway. Lexa Woods is drunk, having a good portion of what she could find in the liquor cabin while Raven helped her get ready, and Jake Griffin is internally screaming. 

This is not how any of them pictured arriving at the hotel to meet Clarke Griffin…and yet. 

"Rae…" Lexa slurs, using Jake as a leaning post. "Can you believe it's been ten years since I've had more than a glass of wine?"

"I can't imagine why, bestie." Raven says as she tosses the keys to the valet. She turns to Jake. "So, where's your other mom and your brother?"

"I'm not exactly sure," he replies tiredly.

"I can't believe you dragged your Mom out here without telling Clarke." Raven accuses him as she's trying to keep Lexa upright.

"We should probably check in." Lexa says cheerily, wobbling towards the front desk. Raven throws a glare at Jake before following in tow.

Jake makes it to the lobby when he hears a familiar bark and spots Artemis barreling towards him. "Artie!" 

Octavia makes the quick decision to pull them into the next available elevator before anyone can notice. 

***

"Mom!" is all Lexa hears when a man carrying large packages nearly falls down the steps because she wasn't paying attention. 

"Jake, I'm fine!" She hollers at who she thinks is Jake. "I'll meet you upstairs." 

Raven nudges Aden. "Come on, bud." 

"Hey, Rae." He smiles at her. "It's good to see you."

Raven holds out her fist for a fist bump. "Same, kid."

***

"This should clear anything you've got." The kind bartender says, sliding a murky glass towards her. "But don't ask any questions."

"Thank you." Lexa says gratefully as she takes a long drink from the concoction. "Gross." She immediately makes a face, but she can't deny that she does feel better. 

"Here's your bill, Miss Woods."

"Please, call me Lexa." She says, Signing her bill with a decent tip.

"Lexa Woods? The Lexa Woods?" Someone asks from the other side of the bar. 

She takes another dreaded gulp of her drink and answers the stranger, "That's me."

"This is a crazy coincidence." The man with kind eyes says. "I called your office this morning, asking if you'd be available to do a wedding design, but your business partner said you were unavailable. And here you are!"

Lexa smiles politely, "Lucky you, then."

"I'd say." He replies, reaching his hand out. "I'm Finn Collins."

***

Lexa had envisioned a lot of things about seeing Clarke Griffin again. She imagined an angry Clarke, coming at her in all her rage. Perhaps even a Clarke that would give her the cold shoulder. But never quite the jaw-hanging-wide-enough-to-catch-flies-staring-at-her-utterly-shocked-while-simultaneously-wrapped-in-a-man's arms Clarke.

She storms after children after that.

"Jake Griffin!"

Her boys step out to greet her in the hallway. She scolds them, "Don't do that. My head's already spinning."

"It's me, Mom." Aden steps forward and grins at her.   
She opens her arms for him. "Oh, I've missed you." She beckons for Jake to join them. "Look at you both." Then, she remembers why she was up here to begin with and pulls back. "One of you told me your Ma knew I would be here. That…is definitely not the case."

Jake and Aden share a guilty look, unsure how to tackle an upset Mom.

Octavia pops her head out from the room behind Aden. "Hate to break up the family reunion, but let's take this little shindig inside." She ushers the boys into a room, then decides to re-introduce herself to Lexa. "You probably don't remember--"

"Octavia, it's nice to see you again." Lexa greets her warmly, giving her a quick hug, before following her sons. 

Octavia tries not to gush over it as she shuts the door.

"Mom, maybe you should lie down." Aden suggests.

"Okay," Lexa says slowly, taking the couch, "but, can one of you get something for my head?"

Octavia hands Aden a damp towel to bring to his mom. 

Lexa tries to calm down for a moment when Raven decides to emerge from the bathroom in nothing but a bikini. She practically bolts upright. "Raven!"

Raven stops dead in her tracks, nearly colliding with Octavia. 

Octavia, unable to help herself, just blurts out, "Well, fuck me."  
Jake shouts, "Octavia!" 

Raven ignores Jake, and everyone else in the room, before taking an appreciative glance down Octavia's body. "Won't mind if I do."

"Raven!" Aden takes a pillow and tosses it at her. 

Lexa's starting to get frustrated. "Will you two cool it so someone can tell me what's going here?" 

"Time to check out that pool situation." Raven announces, trying to make a mad dash for the door. 

"I'll have to help you." Octavia says, trying to join her. 

Lexa looks hopeless at her sons. Jake starts with, "Mom, Ma's getting married." 

"What?" Lexa says, sinking into the couch. 

"To Lucky Charms, Mom. He's totally all wrong for her." Jake explains, "And the only way she won't go through with it is if…" He stops himself, unable to get the words out. He turns to his brother and urges him, "You should explain…she knows you better."

Aden nods, taking a deep breath and sitting next to Lexa. "She won't go through with it, if she sees you again."

Lexa almost laughs. "You two are not trying to set me up with your Ma, are you?"

Raven and Octavia take that as the perfect opportunity to reach for the door handle. 

"Hold it, you two." Lexa points at them and they turn around. "And you knew about this?"

"Well, " Raven starts, but ends up stuttering.

Octavia chimes in, "it was really sweet." 

Raven can only wholeheartedly agree. 

Lexa rubs her temples with her fingers before standing up to address the four children in the room, Raven and Octavia included. "I'm going to say this once, so you all understand that the reason I am here is to switch, " she turns to her sons, "the two of you back." 

***

Clarke is going crazy because she's pretty sure she saw her ex-wife. Correction, her very attractive, still-as-hot-as-the-day-she-left, ex-wife. 

It takes a while, takes a little bit of convincing to distract Finn with wedding details before she finds Lexa. And when she finds her, she's not sure if she's upset or if she just wants to be near her. She could never understand Lexa's gravitational pull on her, but she could never fight it. And there she is, in all her glory, as Clarke nears the pool area. She really does look as good as the day she walked out-- maybe a little less tired, but still. 

She's already halfway to meeting her before she even realizes. It's not really a choice, really. It's always like this with Lexa in close vicinity. It's always a push and pull that it almost feels magnetic. 

She's so completely unaware of where she's going and what's around her that she doesn't foresee Lexa taking her hand and pulling her away from what could have been an embarrassing moment. 

Clarke can't help but comment, "Always catching my fall, huh, Lex?"

Lexa responds easy, "Guess some things don't change." 

"You definitely haven't." Clarke responds, shaking her head slightly, "I never thought I'd see you again. What are you even doing here?"

"Well, could a spiritual intervention be a sufficient answer?" Lexa laughs nervously before clearing her throat and explaining, "well, actually, I live just out of the city." 

Clarke stares at her, "But, you don't seem all that surprised to see me."

"Ma, I can explain." Aden says, appear from somewhere behind Lexa. 

"Jake, do you know who this is?" If Clarke wasn't dumbfounded before, she sure is now. 

"Yes, actually." Adne nods, "But I'm not Jake."

Jake appears this time. "That would be me."  
Clarke looks between them, a twinkle in her eye. "You mean I've had Aden this whole time?" Clarke looks up to Lexa, who simply nods. Opening her arms, Clarke she says to Aden, "Come here, you."

Aden sniffles a little bit as he lets Clarke hug him. "I hope you're not mad."

"Of course not, sweetie." Clarke says, kissing his hair. "I'm just glad I get to see you again. Last time I saw you, you were in diapers." 

Aden replies, "I just wanted to see you…even if it was just this once."

While Lexa tilts her head at the admission, Clarke looks at him with a teary smile. She turns her attention to Jake, "So, wait, you've been here the entire time?" 

"Well, not here-here. But, yeah, I've been with Mom." He runs into her arms. 

"Can you believe they switched places on us?"

Clarke smirks at Lexa, "Well, we did raise them." 

"Babe, there you are!" Finn greets as he approaches. "I have met-- oh, you've met!" He says as he notices Lexa. "Lexa's gonna design the - wait, how do you know each other?"

"Wait, you didn't happen to agree to do a wedding, did you?"

Lexa blinks at Clarke. "I did, but I didn't know it was your wedding, I swear."

Finn looks at Clarke, then at Lexa. "Um, can someone explain what's going on?"

Clarke winces, "Well, did I ever mention Jake was a twin?"

"Hi there, " Jake greets him. "I'm the real Jake, and you've already met my brother Aden." 

"And this, " Aden chimes in, "is our other mom, Lexa Woods." 

"So, you two were married?" 

Everyone nods. 

Finn forces a smile as best as he can, "Isn't that endearing?"

***

"Jake, I'm really tired of all the surprises. Could you just tell me where--" The rest of Clarke's question fails when she spots Lexa in a fitting green dress.

"Hey," Clarke replies, slowly blinking. 

Lexa whispers as they let the boys take the lead. "You've no idea where they're taking us?"

"Not a damned clue." Clarke smiles. "You look great. Green always brought out your eyes, you know."

Lexa tries not to blush, but she says thanks, anyway. "You always look beautiful, Clarke."

The boys stop in front of an empty diner. "We're here!"

Lexa says pointedly, "It looks closed."

Clarke's eyes widen when she turns to the brunette, "Lex, don't you recognize this place?"

Lexa wants to say no, but the 24 hour sign and the number 13 sets off a memory. "2 AM pancakes." She whispers.

"But wait, it's closed?" Clarke asks, "I remember it was 24 hours." 

The door opens to reveal Raven and Octavia in waitress outfits. "For one night and one night only, " Octavia glares in Clarke's direction. "We'll be your servers."

Clarke and Lexa hold back their laughter as they follow the boys in. 

Lexa has to ask, "You guys didn't break into this place, right?" She eyes Raven the entire time. 

Octavia grins, "Nope. Turns out I know the owner. A bit of a hardass, but a big old softie." 

"Yeah, kinda like you, Lex." Raven teases.

Lexa glares at Raven, but Clarke just places a hand at the small of her back. "Keep at it, you two. At this rate, no tip."

Raven and Octavia pull out seats for the two and Lexa's eyebrows furrow. "The table's only set for two?"

"Oh, oops, I guess we forgot about that detail." Jake says, rubbing the back of his neck.

Aden supplies, "We won't be joining you."  
Clarke is about to protest when Lexa looks at Aden sternly, "and you two will eat dinner?"

"Yes, Mom." He kisses her on the cheek. "Enjoy your dinner."

The boys disappear into the back, leaving the two with Octavia and Raven.

"Surprisingly enough this isn't the most ridiculous thing that's happened to us, right, Lexa?" Clarke nods.

"Might as well make the most of it. The boys did put a lot of thought into this." Lexa turns to Raven, "But you're definitely not off the hook, Reyes."

Raven shrugs, placing wine glasses in place. "You have cute kids."

Octavia pours the wine. "Agreed. Cutest mini-Clarke and mini-Lexa ever." Then she says, "one thing's for sure. They love you guys more than anything."

"You realize this complicates the arrangement we have, right?" Lexa asks. 

"Yeah, but I mean, can we really separate them for much longer?" Clarke replies, taking a sip from her glass. "You could keep them for half a year, and then I could--"

"They're not army brats, guys." Octavia blurts. Clarke glares at her. "Oh, right." She pulls Raven by the arm, "We'll just be in the back."

Clarke waits for their friends to disappear behind swinging doors before gesturing for Lexa to go first. 

"I thought the whole reason we had this arrangement was o we didn't have to see each other again?"

"We didn't really decide that together, Lexa." Clarke says with a hint of vehemence in her tone. "But now that I have the chance to ask, what exactly happened between us?"

"Come on, Clarke. We were young ad way in over heads starting a family so soon." Lexa tries to reason, but she just finishes with a sigh. "I mean, ultimately, I fucked up."

"So, you decided to just up and leave with Aden."

"Clarke, I'm pretty sure you didn't try to stop me or else--" 

"-- or else what? You would've stayed?" Clarke challenges the notion, crossing her arms and glaring at her. "Didn't realize you were only around for the chase."

Lexa shuts her eyes, steeling herself before staring back into Clarke's angry glare, her blue eyes cold. "I was under the impression you didn't want me anymore." She sighs, picking at the napkin in her lap. "So, yes. I left."

Clarke shakes her head, suddenly regretting bringing up the subject. "I guess this is the part where we pretend we don't hate each other for the boys' sake." 

Lexa admits softly, "I could never hate you, Clarke."

"Well, I hated you for a long time."

"I deserve that."

Clarke smiles at her, "Maybe."

***

Aden rolls his eyes. "It's not going to work this time. It clearly didn't work last time! Mom literally congratulated Ma on her wedding and told her we were going home! I have to leave in like 20 minutes!" 

Artemis whines as she shoves her snout into Aden's hands. 

He rubs her behind the ear, "I know, girl, but you know you have to go back to DC with Ma and Jake after the wedding in a few weeks."

Artemis whines louder.

"No, you can't come home with me." Aden sighs. "Jake, your dog is being unreasonable."

"No, she's not." Jake snaps back at him, "You're not even trying to help me! Come on, Rae said the conversation wasn't very light last night." He reasons, seemingly whining like the dog now. "Just one last try. They just need more time!"

Artemis and Jake are both giving him puppy dog eyes. "Fine."

"Yes!" Jake cheers as Artemis jumps around on the oversized hotel bed. "Come on, we need to get ready." 

***

"Have you seen the boys? Jake should be ready by now." Lexa says to Clarke, whose expression remains cold.   
"Raven will accompany Aden to the wedding, I promise."  
Clarke nods weakly before looking around. "There they are."  
"Boys, come on." Lexa tuts at them, dressing exactly alike in basketball shorts and oversized sweaters. "We have to head home." She then blinks, "Aden, where's all your stuff?"

"Boys, this isn't funny." Clarke scolds her sons. "You're going to make your mother late for her meeting." 

Being unable to tell them apart, Clarke and Lexa just listen to their sons alternate speaking.

"We want more time together."

"With each other."

"With you two."

"Together."

"As a family."

Lexa exhales. "Okay, I'm thinking I'm going to put one of you in the car with me, and we are going home." 

Clarke stares at both her sons and she has a sneaking suspicion the one on her right is the one she raised. "This one's Jake." She looks over to the one she thinks is Aden. "I'm sure of it."

One of the twins move forward. "Hope you're guessing right, Ma."  
"Wouldn't want to send the wrong twin back to DC…"  
"Would you?"

***

 

"What?" No, I’m not okay with you spending a week with your ex-wife 2 weeks away from our wedding day."

Clarke explains, "It's for the boys. They've just met and they want to spend the rest of the summer together as a family." She elaborates, "It's not supposed to interfere with the wedding, I promise."

"Are you just going to coddle your kids now? Is that how you want to raise them all of a sudden?" Finn demands, whispering harshly. "Aren't you the parent, not the other way around?"

"Finn, I think you need to calm down." Clarke says, calmly as she can muster. "We'll be back before you know it."

"Hey, Finn." Lexa greets, placing a suitcase into the car. "How's it going?" She closes the trunk. "I hope this trip isn't too sudden. We just couldn't deny the boys from spending more time together."

"Actually, if I may, it is a little sudden. I thought Clarke and I could spend more time together, since we're getting engaged and all." 

Lexa thinks about it for a moment, then says, "You know, you're right."

"Lex?" Clarke says in a cautious tone.

"Clarke you should stick around here for a little longer, spend time with your fiancé before the big day. Join us in a week." 

"What?" Comes the outraged voice from one of the twins. "That's not the plan!" 

Lexa sighs, patting Clarke on the shoulder as the boys round the car with sour faces. "Maybe not, but let's be more understanding of the fact that your Ma is getting married soon." She then turns to Finn, "And Finn, if you'd like to join Clarke in a week's time, you are more than welcome. You probably want to spend more time with the boys."

"Thanks, Lexa." Finn says, a little disarmed. "Appreciate it."

Lexa turns to Jake. "Come on, go get Artemis before I change my mind about a dog in my house."

"Yes, Mom." Jake says, trudging back into the hotel. 

Aden tries not to glare at Finn, so he busies himself with making room for Artemis, pulling one of the seats down so she can climb into the cleared off space in the back. He tries to also ignore Raven and Octavia who are fighting over who gets to sit in between the boys, but they might be the best distraction to Lucky Charms to date. 

Raven wins rock, paper, scissors so she sits between Aden and Jake. They make paper airplanes out of ripped out pages from an old National Geographic they find at their feet, which they throw at Octavia the entire ride home. It helps a little. 

The boys don't think about Clarke or Finn or the wedding.


	4. i'll recover if you keep me alive

Not even five days into having the boys spend time at Lexa's property, Lexa wakes up one day to Aden almost breaking down her door with his excitement. 

"Mom, wake up! Ma just called! She's coming today." Aden yells into her room through the door. 

Lexa shakes her head. She might be a little surprised by the news, but she really doesn't expect Clarke to show up until much later. So, she lets the boy have their fun.

She can hear Artemis barking, paws hitting the hardwood floor of the stairs, presumably chasing after the boys. 

Anya pokes her head in.

Lexa waves a hand, "Not now, An."

"Well I figure as Raven and Octavia have made a love nest out of Raven's apartment above the garage, you would need someone to give you a pep talk."

Lexa groans, "I don't need one, thank you very much."

"Of course, you do." Anya grins mischievously as she jumps onto Lexa's bed, "Especially if your replacement is joining the party."

Lexa makes a face, sitting up to face her sister. "Can we not call him that?"

"Why?" Anya smirks, "because he's a downgrade?"

"I've never called him a downgrade."

"Oh, I know, but the boys have. So have Raven and Octavia. Dad thinks so, too." 

"Dad hasn't even met him." 

"Are you going to question Dad?" 

Lexa glares at her sister. "Get out."

***

The doorbell rings and the boys clamor to get to the door first. Lexa's only about halfway down the stairs when Aden manages to shove his brother out of the way to open the door. 

"Ma!" 

"Aden, come here1" Clarke says, wrapping him an embrace.

"Hey, whatta bout me?!' Jake hollers, finally getting on his feet. 

Lexa finally makes it down the stairs and to the door. "You need help with your bags?" She addresses Clarke. "Where's Finn?"

Clarke shrugs, "Fuck if I know."

"Clarke." Lexa chastises, gesturing to the boys who are snickering at their Ma's response. 

"Oh, right." Clarke says sheepishly. "Don't know. Don't care."

Lexa tilts her head at the cab in her driveway. "Well, if you didn't bring Finn, then who did you--"

"Grandma Abby!" Jake calls out, running to meet his grandma who's emerged from the car. 

"Hope you don't mind." Clarke says with a slight apology in her voice. 

Lexa grimaces. "Of course not. She'd probably love to see Aden." He turns to her son, who doesn't know what to do with himself. "Aden, go greet your grandmother."

"Is that my grandson?" Abby says, hugging Aden when he gets close enough. "My, you've grown."

Clarke whispers to Lexa, "I'd not mention our marriage. She just had to hear about my engagement and breakup with Finn in the span of 15 minutes. "

"Noted." Lexa nods. "You guys hungry? I think I can get Dad to cook something if we're nice to him."

Clare smiles gratefully. "Food would be awesome." Then follows Lexa into the kitchen. " Wow, Lex. Your place looks amazing." 

"Thanks." Lexa says throwing a warm smile over her shoulder. "She grabs a water bottle from the fridge to hand to the blonde, "Sorry for the mess, by the way. Our sons aren't exactly the cleanest."

"Lex," Clarke says with a teasing smile, "Aden's the neatest kid I've ever seen in my life. All this is probably Jake."

Lexa laughs at that. 

"I'll make sure he cleans up, though." Clarke winks at her, whispering, "I think he should probably take after you anyway."

Shaking her head, Lexa grabs Clarke by the hand and leads her to the backyard. When they're outside, Lexa lets go of her hand so that Clarke can walk around the garden. 

"Holy shit, Lex." Clarke says breathlessly. 

"This is your backyard." Lexa nods at the blonde, who continues to marvel at everything. "I wish I had backyard just so I could pay you to work your magic."

"You know I wouldn't charge you, right?"

"What? Some special ex-wife special, or something?"

Lexa doesn't look at her. "Something like that."

"Well, I wish I had my camera." Clarke sighs when she finds a primrose bush. She traces the edge of the petal with a finger. 

Lexa looks surprised, "do you not--" 

"--Oh, no, I do. I just left it at home because Finn figured we'd have a professional photographer for the wedding, you know?"

Lexa nods, but doesn’t say a word. 

***

"Lexa and Clarke, sitting in a tree--" 

Lexa covers her sister's mouth immediately. "Anya, shut up."

"Don't think I didn't see you two in the backyard earlier." Anya smirks, "Actually, the entire house was watching. Raven and Octavia could see you guys from the garage." 

Lexa glares at her. 

"What? It's true." Anya grins. "I'm sure Raven will never let you hear the end of it. You apparently did the cute thing you do when you get all emotional--"

"Go away, Anya." Lexa pleads for her sister to leave her alone.  
"Should I just get Raven--"  
"No!" 

***

"Lex, honestly, it's okay, I'm not gonna kick you out of your room." Clarke protests. "I’m perfectly fine on the couch."

"Not as my guest, you're not." Lexa says, yanking the blanket from Clarke's hands and proceeding to lay on the couch. "Goodnight, Clarke." She pulls the blanket up to her chin as if she's said something with some finality. 

As if Clarke was going to listen to her. Clarke just raises an eyebrow. "You know I could just pick you up, right"

Lexa opens one eye, trying to portray a glare through that one eye she's looking at Clarke with. "You wouldn't dare." 

Clarke wiggles her fingers in her direction, inching closer. "You wanna bet?" Lexa doesn't budge. "I'll count to three…"  
"I am not a child, Clarke."

"Well, you're sure acting like one." Clarke grumbles, frowning. 

Lexa studies the blonde for a second, then smiles. "You're gonna get frown lines." Clarke sticks out her tongue. "Who's being a child now?"

"You're being unreasonable." 

Lexa rolls her eyes. "I hardly think I am, but can you think of a better idea?" 

Clarke looks at her. "Yes." She then proceeds to drag Lexa and the blanket upstairs to Lexa's bedroom. 

"No." Lexa says. "No way."

"Oh, come on. " The blonde rolls her eyes. "It's not like we haven't done it before." 

Lexa glares at her.

"What? I'll be on this side. And you'll be on that side." 

Lexa clenches her jaw, deep in thought. 

"You're thinking too hard." Clarke says, already in Lexa's large bed. "It's only for two nights." 

With a short pause and hesitation, Lexa's expression softens. "You know you could stay as long as you wish." 

Clarke is obviously taken aback. But, she shakes her head. "Lexa, that's sweet of you, but I think we've overstayed our welcome. 

"Fine." Lexa relents, also climbing into bed except with a conscious mind to stay close to her edge. "But, you stay on that side." 

"Night, Lex." 

"Goodnight, Clarke." 

Lexa can't sleep at first, but Clarke drifts off almost immediately. She almost smiles at the fact that Clarke still loves sleep so much. Before long, she's slipped into her own slumber. 

She wakes up suddenly. And she can't figure out why. It's dark in her room. Her alarm clock tells her it's only 3 in the morning. But then she realizes what it was that stirred her awake. 

Clarke. 

Lexa listens closely and when Lexa figures it out, her heart breaks a little. 

She's crying, and Lexa can take a wild guess why. So, she does the thing that she knows to do. She maneuvers herself carefully closer to Clarke, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. She doesn't say anything. She's not sure she should, but she waits for Clarke's breaths to even out before she lets herself fall back asleep. 

When she wakes the next morning, Clarke's gone and she's hugging a pillow. She finds the boys in the backyard chasing Clarke and Artemis around the garden. 

Clarke notices her and waves. 

Lexa smiles in return, thinking if this is anything, it's progress. 

***

"Mama G!" Octavia shouts when she walks in through the back door. "When did you get here?"

"Octavia, I didn't know you were here!" Abby hugs her and takes a good look at her. "Wait a second, you're glowing." 

"Sup, fam." Raven grunts, missing the exchange between Octavia and Abby moments before. 

Abby eyes Octavia and then Raven before whispering to Octavia, "And now I know why."

"Mama G!" Octavia whines, hoping Raven doesn't notice. (She doesn't.)

"Mom, please be nice to them." Clarke says as she walks into the kitchen from the dining room. 

Following after Clarke, Lexa says, "Oh, Mrs. Griffin, this is my best friend Raven." Lexa throws an arm around the engineer. "Raven, meet Clarke's mom."

"How do you do, Mrs. G?"

"Lexa, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Abby." Abby shakes her head at Lexa. "You act as if you weren't married to my daughter and aren't the mother of my grandsons."

Lexa turns a deep red that causes Raven to snicker with delight. She mumbles, "Sorry, Abby."

"Clarke how did you ever manage to let this one go?" Abby asks, and now it's Clarke's turn to change colors. 

Gus' boisterous laugh enters the kitchen, too. "That's what I've been telling Lexie here for years."

Lexa announces, "Okay, now that we're done embarrassing me, how about dinner?"

***

"No last ditch effort?" Aden asks, petting Artemis, whose sprawled out on the bed.

"I'm out of ideas." Jake admits, faceplanting next to Artemis. She lets out a long and heavy huff. 

"The great mastermind Jake Griffin is out of ideas?"

"Dude, don't kick me while I'm down." Jake says, sighing and rolling over to lay on his back. "Grandma was kind of my last resort." 

"You put her up to that whole thing in the kitchen before dinner earlier?" He high fives his brother over Artemis.

"It didn't take much convincing," Jake laughs. "You know, Grandma and Pop were the reason I couldn't quite let Mom go. Well, more Pop than Grandma but I don't think she disagreed that much. Grandma didn't like that Mom left, you know?" Jake sighs. "Pop said she was perfect for Ma."

"You guys are going home tomorrow, Jake." Aden whispers. "What do we do now?"

"Hope everything works out in the end." Jake sighs. "We've done everything we can."

***

It's nightfall and Clarke can't get herself to go back into the house. She's been avoiding Lexa, but Lexa's been giving her space like she knows Clarke needs it. 

She hugs herself tighter as the cold breeze surrounds her in the garden. 

"It's prettier during the day." Lexa says from behind her, and Clarke doesn't have to turn around to know that Lexa's teasing her. "You can actually see all the detail."

"I know." Clarke replies, rolling her eyes. "You did make it with your two hands, after all."

Lexa doesn't respond like Clarke expects. Instead, Lexa wraps a blanket around her shoulders. When she looks at her questioningly, Lexa shrugs. "You've been shivering for the last 30 minutes." 

"You've been watching me for that long?" Clarke asks, a little amused by the realization. 

"Had to make sure the wolves don't get you."

Clarke's blue eyes go wide. "What?"

"I'm kidding. " Lexa shoots her an easy smile. "I was gathering the courage to come out here, actually."

"Why does that require so much bravery?" Clarke whispers, genuinely curious.

"I'm sorry I ruined your engagement."

"You're the last person to ruin it," Clarke sighs, "but I guess I should thank the boys one day." 

Lexa blinks at her owlishly before Clarke starts to lean in. Lexa doesn't her halfway, like her body was screaming that she should. Instead, she pulls away and presses a kiss to Clarke's temple. "You have an early flight." 

***

"You know, I didn't think you'd walk out of that place without her." Abby says thoughtfully, "But are you two okay now?"

"Better than we have been, Mom." Clarke says, taking a glance at Jake, who's been quiet the entire plane ride and now the cab ride. 

The taxi stops off at Abby's house. Clarke kisses her on the cheek and thanks her for coming. 

"It was nice to take a vacation. Please tell me you'll visit more often." She adds quickly, "Oh and bring Aden, too."

"We'll try, Mom." Clarke nudges her son. "Jake say by to your grandma." 

"Bye?" Abby says. "Help your grandma with her luggage."

Jake chuckles. "Yes, Grandma." Artemis whines and Jake tells her, "Stay, girl. I'll be back."

Jake opens up the trunk and pulls out one of the suitcases. "Here you go, Grandma." 

"Thank you, Jake." She smiles at him. "You know, you remind me more of your grandfather more and more each day. She hugs him, whispering, "Look after your Ma, for me, yeah?"

"I'll try my best."

"That's my boy." Abby grins. "Now go on, Bet you can't wait to be home." 

***

"Bell! We're home!" Clarke calls out. "Guess he's not home."

Jake walks into the kitchen and notices a note scrawled on it in Bellamy's handwriting. "Ma, he's at the gallery."

Clarke makes a face. "What's he doing there?"

"Can we go find out?" Jake asks, a little excited at the idea of a surprise from Uncle Bell. 

Clarke notices that this is the first time Jake has smiled since they left. "Alright, come on." 

"Yes!" Jake cheers, already heading for the door. "Come on, Ma! Race you!"

Clarke follows him down the street and up the two flights of stairs. 

"Ma, the door to your secret collection is open."

"I told him he's not allowed in there." Clarke rolls her eyes. "I'm gone for a week and a half, and all of a sudden the thinks he owns the place."

"Uncle Bell!" Jake shouts into the room as he enters. "Ma's gonna be really mad at you!" He pauses and Clarke hears him say, "Wait, what are you doing here?"

Clarke gets concerned when she doesn't hear Bellamy. "Jake, who are talking--"

"--Hi, Ma!" It's Aden, sitting in her office chair and smiling up at both of them. He stands up. "You didn't think we'd let you go that easily, did you?"

 

"Wait, we…that means…" Clarke turns in a circle and finds Lexa standing next to one of her most prized possessions. 

Lexa points at the photo-- the one she took on the train before they even met. "You kept this?" Clarke can only nod. "I'm glad. You know, it was kind of the most important day of my life." 

Clarke looks at Lexa like she's imagining her. "What are you doing here?"

Lexa sighs, taking a step forward. "Isn't it obvious?" She swallows her nerves. "The moment the cab drove away, we realized we couldn't live without you again."

"Lex…" Clarke breathes out, not quite believing what she's hearing. She looks at Aden who just nods at her. Something warm settles in her gut. She dares to meet Lexa's green eyes that are looking at her like Clarke is the only thing in the world. 

Lexa braves on. "The boys might be my entire world, but, " she pauses, breathing out her name like a whispered prayer, "Clarke, you've been every star in my universe since the day we met." She clenches her jaw a few times before continuing. "I know I was the one who screwed up. I was the one who asked you to marry me and I was the one who chose to walk away, but I'm here now and I'll wait forever if I have to--"

"--Lexa, shut up." 

Clarke is in front of her in one swift motion, pulling Lexa into her and allowing their lips to crash together. Lexa pauses for a moment, needing to let the moment overwhelm her. Her lips quiver and all Clarke can do is kiss her with more fervor. Lexa melts into it, wanting to be as close as possible to Clarke in hopes that Clarke never lets her go this time around.

All the while Jake is continually swatting Aden on the arm, whispering fiercely, "Dude, dude!"

Aden just nods dumbly, "It worked."

They did it. They actually did it. 

Jake was right. It did work out in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> The story title/chapter titles are all from Shine by Years & Years
> 
> come yell at me: reshopgaypanda.tumblr.com


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